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Contributing to a Thriving Community

¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ and Ohio

2019-20 Government Relations Network Report

Contributing to a Thriving Community

Dale Savage in front of the BCRTA bus that he drives as part of the work+ program

Work+ expands – more jobs, less debt for ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Regionals students

The Work+ program at ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Regionals will add another employer in fall 2020—Community First Solutions—expanding ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ’s groundbreaking jobs program that enables students to graduate without accumulating student debt. Three of the original employers maintained those jobs through the economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020. 

One student involved in Work+ in spring 2020 was Dale Savage, who drove a bus for the Butler County Regional Transit Authority - providing him with a healthy dose of perspective.

“I have seen the importance of providing transportation to people who don’t have the privilege of driving a car,” said Savage, a 2019 Badin High School graduate who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science at ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ’s Hamilton campus. “It’s kind of humbling for me.”

About 30 students from the Hamilton and Middletown campuses participated in spring 2020, said Kelly Brown, interim director of Work+. Besides BCRTA, other employers included Deceuninck, thyssenkrupp Bilstein and The Fischer Group.

What is Work+?

Started in fall 2019 with four employer partners, Work+ allows ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Regionals students to pursue a degree and work 24 hours a week. Employers pay students’ tuition in addition to a salary, allowing them to graduate with no debt.

Work+ is a success

More than 90% of the students in the program earned spring 2020 credits and had their tuition covered, with an average GPA of 3.31—better than the student body as a whole.

¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Entrepreneurship Network – COVID-19 response

¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ’s Institute for Entrepreneurship is leveraging the expertise of faculty and students to help small companies and non-profits operated by ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ alumni. The launched in spring 2020 served as a hub for educational and consulting services. “We can give these founders and small business owners a visibility and a voice,” Director Tim Holcomb said.

College@Elm Innovation and Workforce Development Center – an innovation hub in Oxford

¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ has launched College@Elm, a project with Oxford and Butler Country to transform an Uptown block into a thriving technology, entrepreneurship, and creativity hub. The hub will help recruit high-tech companies to Oxford, accelerate innovation, educate entrepreneurs, synergize technology and the arts, and empower collaboration. Using the building housing the Oxford Community Arts Center, an adjacent park area and a new ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ innovation and entrepreneurship building, College@Elm will become a model for small-town America with its boundary-crossing innovation that will trigger breakthrough discovery and accelerate economic development.